SEEK25 inspired La Salle student Abigail Griswold, ’26, M.A. ’27, to deepen her compassion through faith and align it with her career studies.

For Abigail Griswold, ’26, M.A. ‘27, attending SEEK25 helped to unlock a deeper understanding of compassion in Catholicism. Alongside Haylie Doan, ‘26, M.A. ‘27, Griswold returned from the four-day SEEK Conference in Washington, D.C., from Jan. 2-5, 2025, with a renewed energy and passion.

The D.C. conference with 3,500 attendees was organized by Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS), and ran concurrently with another gathering in Salt Lake City, Utah.

“We had such an incredible and busy weekend and took so much from it,” Griswold said. ” I have pages of notes from the various keynotes and impact sessions we got to attend.”

One of the most impactful experiences for Griswold and Doan was a Bible Study Masterclass with helpful discussion topics they hope to employ with their La Salle Christian Fellowship Group. Themes included ways to invite people to their study, what topics to tackle, and what questions to ask to deepen conversation.

“We were encouraged as Bible study leaders and reminded that we do not need to be brilliant theologians to share the Gospel of Christ and the love of God—just the courage to share it,” Griswold said.

The conference was filled with memorable interactions. The duo attended a luncheon with Philadelphia Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez and over 200 SEEK attendees from the Philadelphia area. They engaged with Dominican Sisters Sr. Petra and Sr. Charbel from Chicago; had a one-on-one conversation with Father Stephen DeLacy from the Philadelphia Archdiocese about growing their campus fellowship community, and lengthy conversations with Capuchin Franciscan Friar Father Michael Herlihey who plans to visit their Christian Fellowship Group.

Additionally, they heard inspiring talks from prominent figures in the church including author Sr. Miriam James Heidland, SOLT; theologian Dr. Edward Sri; author Rachel Bulman; Director of Communications and the Director of Priestly Studies of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal Father Mark-Mary Ames; Senior Vice President for Communications for the Knights of Columbus Dr. Jonathan Reyes; and University of Mary President Monsignor James Shea. Griswold described Monsignor Shea’s keynote as the best talk she ever heard.

“Their keynotes touched on every hard-hitting topic a Catholic college student might encounter from how God addresses our needs to what the Great Commission means to us today to slowing the hurry and living in “Godspeed” to bearing our crosses to transformation in Jesus Christ. They even touched on the question that has crossed ever Christian’s mind—why does God care about me?” Griswold said. “Their talks were challenging, touching, heartfelt, and raw, and each one carried so much good. So much so, that thousands of college students WILLINGLY took notes like the most diligent students you know.”

On a personal level, the conference was inspiring to Griswold in her pursuit of becoming a speech-language pathologist (SLP) specializing in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and caring for premature and ill infants.

“Not only will what I learn help me with the clinical aspects of my work, but also with a role that calls on SLPs to be caring, compassionate, and unendingly empathetic to the families of the clients who are going through treatment,” she said “Taking what I learned from this conference as a reference point will help me carry out the same values in my everyday life, and especially as a NICU SLP.”

In total, more than 21,000 participants attended FOCUS events, including those in Salt Lake City.

“It was truly inspiring to see so many mentors, religious, and young people from Philadelphia in D.C. and many from our neighboring schools like Temple, Penn, and Drexel gathered under one conference,” Griswold said.

SEEK26 will take place in Columbus, Ohio, Denver, Col., and Fort Worth, Texas, in January 2026.